Reliance Power share price declined over 6% on Monday after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet against the company and 10 others in a money laundering case. Reliance Power shares slipped as much as 6.39% to ₹35.28 apiece on the BSE.
The fall in Reliance Power share price today comes with robust trading volumes. Around 4 crore equity shares of the company changed hands on stock exchanges, significantly higher than its one-week average trading volumes of two crore shares.
The ED on Saturday said it had filed a chargesheet against Reliance Power Ltd, an Anil Ambani group company, and 10 others in a money laundering case linked to the issuance of an alleged fake bank guarantee of ₹68 crore for securing a tender.
The other accused named in the prosecution complaint include former Reliance Power CFO Ashok Kumar Pal, Reliance NU BESS Ltd and Rosa Power Supply Company Ltd (subsidiaries of Reliance Power), Reliance Group executive Punit Narendra Garg and trade financing consultant Amar Nath Dutta.
According to the agency, Biothane Chemicals Pvt Ltd, Ravinder Pal Singh Chadha and Manoj Bhaiyasaheb Pongde are also named as accused.
This is a supplementary chargesheet and the ED had named an Odisha-based “shell” company, Biswal Tradelink Private Limited, and its MD, Patha Sarathi Biswal, in its first chargesheet filed in this case sometime back.
The case pertains to a bank guarantee of ₹68.2 crore submitted to secure a tender from the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) on behalf of Reliance NU BESS Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Power, a listed company.
The company (Reliance NU BESS) was formerly known as Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited.
Reliance Power’s clarification
Reliance Power said that its subsidiaries and its employees “acted bona-fidely and are victims of a fraud” committed by the third parties.
“It is reiterated that the Company, Reliance Power Limited, its subsidiaries and its employees acted bona-fidely and are victims of a fraud, forgery, cheating and conspiracy committed by the third parties,” Reliance Power said in a regulatory filing on 6 December.
It added that the ED allegations have not yet passed through judicial scrutiny and the company has not been found guilty of any wrongdoing. “The company will get an opportunity to put across its case and facts before the court, even before cognizance, so filing of this complaint does not affect the affairs of the company in any manner,” it said.
“Reliance Power Limited continues to operate normally, remaining fully committed to growth, operational excellence, and the creation of sustainable value for all stakeholders, including its community of over 43 lakh shareholders,” the company said while maintaining its as well as its officials’ innocence.
Reliance Power share price history
Reliance Power share price has fallen 10% in a month, and declined 23% in three months. The stock has dropped 43% over the past six months and plunged 21% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. Reliance Power shares have rallied 48% in two years and have jumped 125% in three years. The stock has delivered multibagger returns of 846% in the past five years.
At 2:00 PM, Reliance Power share price was trading 5.94% lower at ₹35.45 apiece on the BSE.
